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A barely encouraging arrival
The plane is landing in Callao, one of Lima’s neighboring municipality overrun by dust and where everything seems to be still under construction. In July, as we are now in the southern hemisphere, it is winter, and the sky is low and grey. Right outside of the airport, some very large signs advertising luxurious goods are “welcoming” the traveler, and one of those, a real gigantic sculpture depicting the iconic bottles of THE big brand of cola flavored soda, is leaving me quite baffled. It is my first step in South America, and it is about to last 3 years…
The noise, the traffic and the driving that I could call “sporty” are immediately impressive. Yet this discomfort is quite short-lived as those busy streets are welcoming and are hiding museums, restaurants, cafés and all kind of shops. It means those streets are walkable, something I will rediscover after spending the last 7 years in Houston. The contrast between those 2 cities is huge and I appreciate it.
After a couple of weeks, I love Lima. It is a complete new world to explore, it is a different life, a daily existence filled by all kinds of new things. For the amazing and delicious Peruvian cuisine, for this real base camp in South America, for the Andes raising almost at the apartment’s door, … Lima is offering a wide panel of incredible discoveries and opportunities.
It is absolutely enjoyable to walk around this place that’s nicknamed Lima the grey. I will quickly learn that this winter 2015, my first here, (July and August are in the middle of winter in southern hemisphere) is especially mild and pleasant.
Lima is THE big city of Peru, gathering almost one third of the 36 million people of the country. Everything can be found but it might require some effort in order to find it and word of mouth is often the way to go as most information is not yet available on the internet. It’s here that most visitors will discover the ceviche and the pisco sour (pisco is the local alcohol). As a modern city, it is easy to see only the bright side and forget the fact that it is a city of contrasts too, opposing disadvantaged slums against shopping malls or luxurious neighborhoods.
In Peru, Lima creates the envy of most, and many, one day, closed the door of their isolated little house in the Andes to reach the capital in the hope of better days and an easier life. Unfortunately, these hopes are often disappointed and too often, people are ending up in one of these slums, without water or electricity. Is life here really any better than up there, in the Andes?
2ndwinter
The 2ndwinter is mild one more time, but the time of the discovery is over: the routine is now settled, Lima is lived. The effervescence of the markets is still enjoyed. The noise starts to be heard and the pollution to be seen, but those are not yet annoyances and Lima still reveals new and numerous secrets: it is sometimes a surprising and incredible restaurant, it is this little trail on the hills leading to the summit of a real mountain overlooking Lima and offering a unique panorama, it is as well this little market in which some merchants are beginning to recognize us or even all those little habits, henceforth part of the established routine. Visitors, friends or family, are greatly helping us to discover some new treasures, some superb museums or to enjoy some already known restaurants.
Meanwhile, we learned why there was a wall up in the hills we can see through our windows: it is the “wall of shame”, a mix of concrete walls and barb wires basically separating rich districts and poor ones. 16 km long, it leaves a bitter taste every time I see it.
And slowly the routine takes over
The 3rdwinter is unpleasant: it is chilly, between 15 and 18 Celsius (59 to 64 F), but it is the same temperature in the apartment too because housings are not insulated and always unheated. Humidity is really high too, even inside, and largely contributes to increase the sensation of cold. It is really hard to get warmer once at home…
The constant noise is now a real issue, but traffic and pollution are definitely the worst. During the last few months, I started suffering from severe allergies, preventing me to enjoy the daily life. Traffic is exhausting and discouraging: moving in the city or leaving it requires time and efforts most of the time. In the end, all those little things are experienced as daily annoyances and they have extinguished the passion of the beginning. It is time to turn a new page, to simply move on. Goodbye Lima!
